Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Stake Cut by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. reduced its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,983 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,153 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $5,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,974,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXQ Capital LP raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 2,870 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of LECO stock opened at $209.27 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.78. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $222.52. The company has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.06). Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 39.44%. The company had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LECO. KeyCorp cut their price target on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $206.40.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells welding, cutting, and brazing products worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Americas Welding, International Welding, and The Harris Products Group. It offers brazing and soldering filler metals, arc welding equipment, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, wire feeding systems, fume control equipment, welding accessories, and specialty gas regulators, and education solutions, as well as a portfolio of automated solutions for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing, as well as involved in brazing and soldering alloys, and in the retail business in the United States.